The Meaning of Ezekiel 32:21 Explained

Ezekiel 32:21

KJV: The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of hell with them that help him: they are gone down, they lie uncircumcised, slain by the sword.

YLT: Speak to him do the gods of the mighty out of the midst of sheol, With his helpers -- they have gone down, They have lain with the uncircumcised, The pierced of the sword.

Darby: The strong among the mighty, with them that helped him, shall speak to him out of the midst of Sheol: they are gone down, they lie still, the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.

ASV: The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of Sheol with them that help him: they are gone down, they lie still, even the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

The strong  among the mighty  shall speak  to him out of the midst  of hell  with them that help  him: they are gone down,  they lie  uncircumcised,  slain  by the sword. 

What does Ezekiel 32:21 Mean?

Study Notes

hell
Ezekiel 32:27 , Heb. "Sheol," .
Sheol is, in the O.T., the place to which the dead go.
(1) Often, therefore, it is spoken of as the equivalent of the grave, merely, where all human activities cease; the terminus toward which all human life moves (e.g. Genesis 42:38 grave Job 14:13 grave Psalms 88:3 grave
(2) To the man "under the sun," the natural man, who of necessity judges from appearances, sheol seems no more than the grave-- the end and total cessation, not only of the activities of life, but of life itself. Ecclesiastes 9:5 ; Ecclesiastes 9:10
(3) But Scripture reveals sheol as a place of sorrow 2 Samuel 22:6 ; Psalms 18:5 ; Psalms 116:3 ; in which the wicked are turned Psalms 9:17 and where they are fully conscious; Isaiah 14:9-17 ; Ezekiel 32:21 see, especially, Jonah 2:2 what the belly of the great fish was to Jonah that sheol is to those who are therein). The sheol of the O.T. and hades of the N.T. (See Scofield " Luke 16:23 ") are identical.

Chapter Summary: Ezekiel 32

1  A lamentation for the fearful fall of Egypt
11  The sword of Babylon shall destroy it
17  It shall be brought down to hell, among all the uncircumcised nations

What do the individual words in Ezekiel 32:21 mean?

Shall speak to him the strong among the mighty out of the midst of hell with those who help him they have gone down they lie the with uncircumcised slain by the sword
יְדַבְּרוּ־ ל֞וֹ אֵלֵ֧י גִבּוֹרִ֛ים מִתּ֥וֹךְ שְׁא֖וֹל אֶת־ עֹֽזְרָ֑יו יָֽרְד֛וּ שָׁכְב֥וּ הָעֲרֵלִ֖ים חַלְלֵי־ חָֽרֶב

יְדַבְּרוּ־  Shall  speak 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: דָּבַר 
Sense: to speak, declare, converse, command, promise, warn, threaten, sing.
ל֞וֹ  to  him 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular
אֵלֵ֧י  the  strong 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: אֵל 
Sense: god, god-like one, mighty one.
גִבּוֹרִ֛ים  among  the  mighty 
Parse: Adjective, masculine plural
Root: גִּבֹּור  
Sense: strong, mighty.
מִתּ֥וֹךְ  out  of  the  midst 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: תָּוֶךְ  
Sense: midst, middle.
שְׁא֖וֹל  of  hell 
Parse: Noun, common singular
Root: שְׁאֹול  
Sense: sheol, underworld, grave, hell, pit.
עֹֽזְרָ֑יו  those  who  help  him 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: עָזַר  
Sense: to help, succour, support.
יָֽרְד֛וּ  they  have  gone  down 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: יָרַד  
Sense: to go down, descend, decline, march down, sink down.
שָׁכְב֥וּ  they  lie 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: שָׁכַב  
Sense: to lie down.
הָעֲרֵלִ֖ים  the  with  uncircumcised 
Parse: Article, Adjective, masculine plural
Root: עָרֵל  
Sense: uncircumcised, having foreskin.
חַלְלֵי־  slain 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: חָלָל 
Sense: slain, fatally wounded, pierced.
חָֽרֶב  by  the  sword 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: חֶרֶב  
Sense: sword, knife.